Andy looked up from his pork chops and mashed potatoes. “Dad? Are people born evil?”
His father patted his mouth with his napkin while he thought of a reply. “I don’t think so. Why do you ask?”
“We’re reading about World War Two in school. Hitler was a terrible person and he got all these other people to do terrible things. What made him do that?”
His father exhaled a long, deep breath. “That’s a hard question. I don’t know enough about Hitler to answer that. But most people don’t become bad people with any intention of being evil. Most people become that way because of various circumstances in their lives and the choices they make.”
“Like what?”
“Gosh. Abuse, maybe. Fear and anger can make people do some awful things. But then, they can bring out the best in some people, too. It’s a hard question, Andy. I’m sorry I can’t give you a better answer.”
“It’s okay.” Andy mixed his mashed potatoes in with his peas and ate a little bit more. “So there’s not a point when people just become evil? You don’t just make the decision to be that way?”
“Hmm. I guess there could be a point in someone’s life when they’re faced with a certain set of circumstances and they deliberately make a choice to do the wrong thing, for selfish reasons. And that’s a hard thing to grasp, even for some grown-ups. Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”
Andy nodded. “I think so.”
His father placed his hand on Andy’s shoulder. “Nobody’s really born evil, I think. And sometimes when a person becomes evil, you can understand why without actually excusing what that person does. There are some acts and deeds that are unacceptable, no matter what the reason.”
“I get you. Hey, my show’s on. Can I be excused?”
Andy had finished most of what was on his plate. His father smiled. “Sure. Put your dishes away first, okay?”
Andy picked up his plate and glass and walked to the kitchen. What his father had said made sense. You couldn’t be born evil – that sucked. But maybe he could engineer the circumstances…
Copyright 2006 Amy Frushour Kelly. All rights reserved.
Reproduction by any means prohibited without prior written consent.